Done is such a satisfying feeling. All the effort, usually twice as much as expected, coming to sweet completion.
After hanging the last piece of art last weekend, I slid over to the built-in desk, across the wide-open studio in my pink wool socks, Risky Business-style.
Appropriately, the finishing touch on the apartment was to set up my altar—a place for my intentions and prayers to be held and nurtured. One by one, I unpacked sacred items from my Sabbath box.
Rose quartz for unconditional love. Tiger’s eye for protective, grounding energy. Palo Santo for cleansing and clearing negative energy. Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of fortune, beauty, fertility, and prosperity.
A $100 bill! Holy Moly.
I was literally five times as surprised and delighted as I was a couple of weeks ago when I found twenty bucks in my winter coat. It took me a second to remember the significance. And then, the tears welled up in my eyes.
I remembered withdrawing the one hundred dollar bill before the spring equinox this year when I was still seeking full-time employment and a home of my own. Following in the tradition of an ancient Mexican tribe, it was the most I could easily afford, placed in a bowl on my altar to humbly call forth prosperity.
Just as I had a few years ago when the most I could easily afford was five dollars. How far I’d come.
Benjamin Franklin looked straight at me with lip curled in the tiniest smile. But mostly brow furrowed, eyes heavy with wisdom. Now, just a week after the 2020 presidential election and just a month after starting my new job, I could hear him say:
Yes, you did it. It is done. And this is just the beginning. Let’s get it right this time.
I held the almost weightless bill in my hand, examining what I so often take for granted. My faith. My privilege.
On one side, “In God We Trust.” On the other side, “The United States of America.” And just below those thick all caps letters, so easy to miss in fine print: This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.
It hit me. How we see ourselves in control. And yet, how deeply beholden we are. How deeply in debt we are—emotionally, physically, spiritually, ecologically, and yes, financially. As a country. As a people. As people.
For me, I have a second chance (or third, or fourth) to try once again to fulfill my calling while also making a living.
Just so, for Americans, we have a chance to get it right for the first time. Starting now.
As Lynne Twist so wisely stated in The Soul of Money:
“This is not a time of mere change. This is a time of transformation, and transformation comes not out of scarcity but out of the context of possibility, responsibility, and sufficiency.”
Sufficiency: When needs are met, for all.
Living within our means.
No longer in debt, but ever indebted for the gift of this life.
May you continue to seek out the truth this week.
Love,
Jules
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